A Small Fic About Gary. (Revised)
by Terminatress
Summary: I had some complaints about my fic earlier and I went in it to find out why. Yesh! You guys were right to complain! Stupid @#%$!&* COMPUTER! Anyway! Here's the story once again!
1. Default Chapter

  
Gary Oak was on his way home through Viridian forest when he heard a snap in the bushes to his right. Gary turned to see a large Ursaring coming at him. Gary felt something hit him on the right side and he blacked out. When he opened his eyes again, it was in some sort of bubble.  
  
"Where am I?" Gary said out loud. A voice seemed to answer him out of nowhere.  
  
"You're dead young one." Gary gasped in surprise and began to panic.  
  
"I can't be dead! I have pokemon to train and a championship to win! I'm going to be the best pokemon trainer ever, I can't be dead!" Gary said in alarm.  
  
"Whine if you want to, that still won't change your situation. You are dead but since you weren't cruel to your pokemon, we can sympathize but, we can't allow you into heaven." Gary paled. "However, since you have a lot of good in you, upstairs decided you are to be sent back."   
  
"I'm going home?" Gary asked hopefully. The voice answered with a laugh.  
  
"Yes but not in any form that's recognizable as Gary Oak." Gary was about to ask him what he meant when he felt his bubble around him change.   
  
"What's happening?!" Gary cried in alarm as he seemed to fall. Meanwhile Ash and co where coming home from Gary's funeral.  
  
"I can't believe he's gone." Ash said somberly. Misty and Brock gave him a sideways glance.  
  
"Didn't you always hate Gary because he was your rival?" Misty asked. Ash turned around to face her in anger.  
  
"I didn't hate him! Of course I envied his abilities and him but we were kids together! I didn't hate him, I envied him..." Ash let his sentence open.  
  
"Bet you don't envy him now." Brock joked. Ash lifted one eyebrow and sighed. Brock was right of course, Ash didn't envy Gary now he was gone. Then it hit Ash like a ton of bricks.  
  
"Who's going to train his pokemon now?" Ash asked. Misty and Brock looked at each other. They didn't know the answer to that question. In Viridian forest, a pair of Pikachu were having trouble of their own.  
  
"You'll be fine. Come on." Encouraged the male Pikachu. The female glared at him and gave him if looks could kill you'd be dead glare.  
  
"You're never coming near me again!" Growled the female. The female Pikachu was giving birth and was having a difficult time. "ARRRRG!" Screamed the pokemon one last time.  
  
"It's an egg!" Squealed the father in delight. Just then the mother fainted. "Are you alright?! Speak to me!"  
  
"Another, we have another one on the way!" Screamed the mother suddenly. In the chaos that followed, the egg began to wobble violently and it rolled down a hill into the river. Gary felt strange because he couldn't breath and it was so cold now.  
  
'Where am I now?' A small thought crossed the mind in the egg, 'What sort of prison is this?' Ash walked outside and kept right on walking. He had just been to visit the Oaks who were grieving. Ash walked without Pikachu and his pokemon because for some reason, it just didn't feel right to be with them right now.   
  
'I guess I need some time to get over Gary's death.' Ash thought as he traced his old route. 'This is where that large flock of Spearow attacked me and Pikachu.' Ash thought as soon as he saw the rocky part of the road.  
  
"Maybe I should go to where Misty pulled me up from the river." Ash said to himself. The reason Ash went was because he needed a memory that was pleasant right now and not about Gary. Ash walked for about an hour and found the spot by the lake. Ash sat down and watched the sun set.   
  
'I should go home now.' Ash picked himself up when he saw something drifting towards him. When it reached shore a little bit to his right, Ash could make out an oval shape. Ash ran and plucked the item from the river.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Ash asked the poke egg. In the days to follow, Ash would take care of the egg responsibly. Of course there was a lot of teasing involved. "Hey Brock, how long did you take care of the egg before it hatched?" Brock paused for a moment at Ash's question.  
  
"I think it was a few months." Brock replied. "Your asking how much longer will it take? I honestly don't know." Misty saw her opening and decided to be included in on the conversation.  
  
"Now that's not like you at all Ash. Being responsible and asking advice." Misty teased. Ash was not impressed.  
  
"Oh yeah? Well I'm not letting you near this egg this time Misty. The last time I had an egg it hatched with you watching over it like a hawk. We learned from that mistake that the first thing a pokemon sees it thinks it's their mother." Misty turned red.  
  
"And what is that supposed to mean Ketchum?!" She yelled while her head enlarged twice its regular size forcing Ash to back up a few steps.  
  
"I mean your not going anywhere near this egg!" Ash roared back. Togepi giggled and hugged the egg. "This isn't a play toy Togepi." Ash said as he snatched the egg back quickly.  
  
"You're becoming as protective of that egg as Misty is of Togepi." Commented Brock. Ash was totally taken by surprise, Brock was right. Ash had become very attached to the egg he had been keeping safe for the last few months.   
  
"Yeah, you've been keeping under lock and key since you found that thing-oops!" Misty shut up immediately. Misty had forgotten that you don't remind Ash of that time period; Gary was gone and Ash didn't like to be reminded of it. Ash didn't let on that he was hurt.  
  
"The only reason I'm so protective is that I don't want another Togepi incident." Ash joked. Misty hit him over the head with a fan. Brock laughed and then continued cleaning up the campsite.  
  
"Anyway Ash, don't you think it's about time we left back to Pallet?" Ash smiled. Pallet was his hometown and he had left for another league. He had eight badges required to enter the league that year but, had three months until the league was on.  
  
"I suppose so. Wait till mom sees my badges!" Ash said triumphantly. Misty and Brock gave each other a look and grinned.  
  
"What? So she can add them to the drawer?" Misty asked making Ash fall over.  
  
"You would think that the drawer would be full by this time." Brock laughed. "Do you think that she'll put them in the trash instead?"  
  
"Maybe. I think that she'll throw out that hat before the badges though." Ash got up in a panic and protected his beloved hat.  
  
"No way!!!!!!!" Ash yelled. Misty and Brock saw that Ash wasn't yelling about his hat. On his way up to his head, Ash saw his watch.  
  
"Prepare for trouble!" came a female voice from the bushes.  
  
"And make it double!" echoed her male companion.   
  
"To protect the world from devastation."   
  
"To unite all people within our nation"   
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."   
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above."   
  
"Jessie."   
  
"James."  
  
"Team rocket blast off at the speed of light."  
  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight."  
  
"Meowth that's righ-huh?" Meowth said in surprise. Ash Misty and Brock had left them during the motto. "Why those stuck up, smart aleck twerps!" Growled Meowth.  
  
"Lets go get them!" Jessie growled. Ash and company were running on the path.  
  
"Just like them to be late for their morning interruption." Ash panted. "Too bad for them, we have a ways to travel before we get home. Hurry up you two! We'll miss the Goldenrod train." Ash yelled to his two friends panting behind him.  
  
"Don't you wish you had his energy?" Misty asked. Brock didn't say anything but struggled to keep up.  
  
'What's going on out there?' Gary asked as he felt his prison beginning to shake. This had happened very few times over the last few months. Gary was still in his prison and he could hear voices outside more clearly lately but couldn't make out the voices. Then he felt the warmth again, Gary welcomed it because it was cold sometimes in his prison. 'I want out!!!!' Gary screamed.  
  
'I had better keep this egg in my arms.' Ash thought as he ran. It was bouncing violently in his jacket pocket. Ash ran with the egg snuggly tucked in the crook of his arm. Just then Ash felt something jiggle and he stopped making Misty and Brock crash into him.  
  
"What's the big idea?" Demanded Misty. Brock and her were entangled on the path just after Ash. Brock and Misty had just stopped in time to avoid Ash and Pikachu.  
  
"Pika-pi?" Pikachu sniffed the egg and it began to rock violently again. Pikachu got bopped on the nose and gave a squeal as it fell over backwards onto Misty and Brock. "PI!!"  
  
"It's hatching!" Ash said excitedly. Brock and Misty stopped struggling and watched Ash's back as he knelt down over the egg. "Come on, you can do it." Ash encouraged. Gary was angry. He had enough of this prison so he kicked and struggled in his prison. To his surprise, the prison broke a little allowing him some legroom.   
  
'I can get out! I can get out!' Gary thought with new hope. Gary thrashed at his prison with a new fever of anger. The prison began to shatter under his onslaughts of fury. Gary had broken most of the prison but was stuck in the top part and too tired to continue. Then there was something that tore away the remains of the prison. Air! Gary sucked in his first few gasps of air he had in months. Then something odd happened.  
  
"Look!" a voice said. It was unclear and fuzzy. Gary shivered and tried to open his eyes. Gary was soaked in some sort of fluid he had never seen before and that was the source of his chills. The voice had come from something that had him around the waist. Gary looked down and almost screamed at what he saw.  
  
'I'm -I'm a pokemon!!!!!' Gary saw wet, yellow fur and a pair of hand holding him. His hands were paws! He could feel the tail sticking out from behind him and the wind blowing on it. Gary trailed the hands to the person that held him and gasped in shock. 'No not him, ANYONE BUT HIM!' Ash Ketchum was holding up Gary.  
  
"Hi little guy." Ash said soothingly. Gary was in shock and then a wind made him shiver again. "My but you're a mess." Ash said jokingly. Gary then was surprised at what Ash did next. Ash took off his jacket and wrapped it around Gary.  
  
'What are you doing?' Gary thought as he was wrapped snug. Then he saw the two that Ash traveled with peering over his shoulder.  
  
"How sweet!" Misty said. Gary was too confused to reply to her comment. Brock was the name of the other one Gary thought and he looked Gary up and down.  
  
"Congrads Ash. You just got yourself a Pichu." Ash smiled and Gary felt his stomach growl. Embarrassed, Gary tried to move.   
  
'I can't move.' Gary realized with a panic. ' I don't want to be Ash's pokemon! He's got me wrapped up so I can't get away.' Pikachu tugged at Ash's pants and Ash knew what he wanted.   
  
"You want to see her Pikachu?" Ash said as he knelt to show Pikachu Pichu. Pikachu licked Gary on the face and Gary cried out yuck.  
  
"Pichu!" Was what everyone heard. Ash smiled and so did Pikachu. Ash thought that the voice was cute for a small baby pokemon like Pichu. Gary was then shocked twice over because of what happened next.  
  
"So you want to keep her Pikachu?" Ash said sweetly.  
  
"Sure do." Pikachu replied. Gary was startled that he understood Pikachu. Then he felt himself be moved from his spot on the ground. Gary then realized that he was being taken somewhere.  
  
"I don't want to go!" Gary yelled. Of course Ash just smiled down at the pokemon and continued walking. "Someone get me outta here!" Gary yelled again. Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder and began to make faces at Gary. "And what do you think you're doing?" Gary asked sarcastically. Pikachu grinned and began to talk soothingly.  
  
"There, there, Ash'll feed you as soon as we get to Goldenrod. Then you can have a bath too. Sleep until then." Gary then realized with a panic that Pikachu couldn't understand him.   
  
"But I don't want to go to sleep!" Gary tried to yell. Pikachu crept down to the bundle Ash was carrying and began to give Gary a bath. " Peeh! I don't want a bath either! Stop!" Pikachu didn't hear Gary and continued. Gary tried to resist as long as he could until he didn't have the energy to resist the tongue. Gary succumbed to the exhaustion of the egg breaking procedure and slept under a massage of a tongue.  
  
"Isn't that cute?" Misty commented as soon as she saw the Pichu fast asleep. Ash looked down at Pikachu and Pichu and smiled. Pikachu continued to lick the pokemon after a bit and then tucked the pokemon in to sleep.  
  
"I think we missed the train." Brock said suddenly and Ash smacked his head.  
  
"I'm sorry! I'm such an idiot! I should've made the reservation for tomorrow. Oh well, we won't be able to ride today anyway because of Pichu." Misty nodded.  
  
"Yep. I'll agree with that." Brock and Misty laughed. Ash gave her a glare and kept right on walking. Pikachu climbed back onto Ash's shoulder and looked down at the sleeping baby.  
  
'I wonder? For some odd reason, she reminds me of Gary.' Pikachu thought as he watched the pokemon sleep. 'Can't wait until it learns to talk. Togepi was a bit hard to teach to speak and isn't much of a conversationalist.'   
  
Goldenrod  
  
Gary awoke with a start. He was back in the egg again! Gary panicked and kicked as hard as he could. To his surprise, water moved freely away from him. Gary opened an eye and saw bubbles.  
  
"Good, you're awake." Gary turned to see Ash and his pokemon behind him. Ash was holding him up above the water and had a bar of soap in the other. Ash then slowly put Gary down in the water.  
  
"What?" Gary asked. Then the tickling started. Ash moved the bar up and down his stomach and worked the lather into his fur. "Hey-hey stop! That tickles!" Gary tried to slap the hands away only to splash water.  
  
"Hi there." Pikachu said to Pichu. Gary saw Pikachu climb in and took over for Ash. Pikachu's small paws began to work into the lather. Gary couldn't help giggle and squirm when Pikachu began to scrub Gary's fur. Ash crossed his arms under his chin and watched the two for a while.  
  
'I got a female Pichu. When it evolves, I bet Pikachu is going to have some competition for battling rights. Heh. Then again maybe not.'  
  
"We should give Pichu a name." Ash said over his shoulder to Brock and Misty. Brock was sitting down waiting for Nurse Joy to come along again. Misty was reading a magazine on water pokemon. Gary heard about a name and tried to be included in on the conversation.  
  
"I'm Gary! I don't need a name!" Ash smiled at his pokemon's sudden interruption. It was about time that Pichu came out so Ash rinsed off the suds and bundled her up in towel.  
  
"How about Sugar?" Suggested Misty. Gary gave Misty a don't-even-think-about-it look.  
  
"I'm not a girl!" Growled Gary.  
  
"I don't think she likes it. Can you understand her yet Pikachu?" Pikachu shook his head.   
  
"Not yet. She needs to grow up a little bit more." Gary began to squirm in the towel. Gary got one arm out from under the wet covers and tried to get the other out.  
  
"I think Peachy would be cute too." Misty added. Pikachu, Gary and Ash made a face at that one.  
  
"I don't think so." Ash said. Pikachu bounded up onto Ash's shoulder and agreed with Ash.  
  
'What do these guys think I am? What's with all of these girly names?' Gary thought. Then Gary remembered something. The voice had said not in a form that's recognizable as Gary Oak and that could mean.  
  
"Why that-that cruel, unfair-arrrg! I'm a girl! They sent me back as a female pokemon!" Gary outraged. "To make matters worse, I'm HIS pokemon." Gary pulled the other arm free and tried to push his way out of the towel.  
  
"I think someone just got fussy." Misty said smiling. Ash looked down at the pokemon's small outburst and saw that she wanted out of the towel. Ash smiled and unwrapped the pokemon from the soggy material. Ash picked up a dry towel and set Pichu down on the floor and knelt. Gary was then aware of what was going to happen next and didn't have time to protest.  
  
"Pichu!" Came a small voice from under the towel. Ash was rubbing gently but vigorously. As soon as Ash unwrapped the towel, there was a semi dry but, very fuzzy pokemon.  
  
"There, all done." Ash said in closure. Gary had trouble standing up so he almost fell over when Ash grabbed him to steady the pokemon. "Guess you haven't learned how to walk yet."  
  
"Togepi didn't walk for at least a few hours." Misty said to Ash. Gary then heard a louder grumble come from somewhere. Everyone in the room had a sweatdropped on their heads.   
  
"What? That wasn't me was it?" Gary asked out loud. Brock laughed as Ash picked Gary up.  
  
"Already taking after you Ash. I'll bet you're starving little one. What's say we find you something to eat?" Gary was not impressed.  
  
"I'm not eating Pokechow." Gary grumbled. Brock startled Gary by rubbing his head and laughing. Then something strange happened, there was an instinct release somewhere in Gary's body that seemed to activate when Gary was scared. About three or four volts of electricity moved from Pichu into Brock. Ash was protected because of the towel.   
  
"Ouch!" Brock said in surprise. It stunned everyone in the room but no one was as stunned as Gary. Misty giggled and so did Togepi.  
  
"Looks like you're Pichu just learned thundershock." Brock said from the floor. Gary looked over the mounds of fabric at Brock.  
  
"Did I do that?" Gary asked. Ash laughed. Then they went out to the cafeteria for something to eat. After some waiting, food was brought out to the gang but, Pichu refused to eat the food given to him.  
  
"Hey, Misty? How did you get Togepi to eat?" Ash asked. Gary wouldn't open up for the hundredth time.  
  
"Togepi just ate what I gave it. Here let me try." Gary gave Misty a what-are-you-doing look. "Yummy, open up Pichu. See, good food. I bet you're hungry."  
  
'I'm not going to eat this junk.' Gary thought. Misty had the spoon right up to Gary's mouth but he wouldn't open.   
  
"How young is that pokemon?" The group turned to see an elderly couple watching the group.  
  
"Just hatched today ma'm." Ash replied. They came over.  
  
"No wonder it won't eat. Pichu's in the wild usually get milk to drink instead of solids right off the start. Maybe that's why it won't eat." The man said.  
  
"Give it some milk in a bottle like a real baby and maybe she'll eat." Suggested Brock. Ash got up from the table and brought Gary with him to the kitchen, Pikachu came along too. The Nurse Joy asked if there was anything wrong with his meal.   
  
"There's nothing wrong with my meal, it's hers I'm worried about." Ash looked down at Pichu. Gary saw a few things strewn on the table and counters.  
  
'This is more like it!' Gary thought. Ash set Pichu down beside Pikachu on the counter to talk to Nurse Joy about Pichu. 'Now's my chance to get some real food.' Gary thought. Gary tried to make his way over to the food on the opposite end of the counter and remembered in a hurry that he couldn't walk. After a few stumbles, Gary was interrupted.  
  
"Where are you going?" Pikachu asked Gary. Gary then knew he had been spotted. Gary was so startled by Pikachu's question that he fell down with a thump.  
  
'Ow. That hurt!' Gary thought. Tears began to well up in his eyes. Pikachu saw what was going to happen and moved in to avoid it.  
  
"Ash! We got someone about to cry over here!" Ash was interrupted and saw Pichu flat on her rump and a shade of blue passed over his face.  
  
"Uh-oh!" Ash did the two-foot dash to the counter and picked Pichu up. "Did someone fall down? You shouldn't be trying to walk around on your own yet Pichu." Gary then realized that he wasn't on the counter anymore and his stomach growled.  
  
'I'm tired, hungry and I'm a pokemon. Not even a good pokemon at that! No one understands me and I can't communicate. I'm so frustrated I think I'm going to-"  
  
"PICHUUUUUU" Tears began to pour down Gary's face. Ash and Pikachu sighed and Ash held Pichu closer.  
  
"About that milk." Ash looked at Nurse Joy for help and she smiled.   
  
"I think we can whip something up." Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's shoulder to try to get Gary to calm down. Gary wouldn't listen and continued to cry. In five minutes a bottle was warming up on a stove and Gary was still crying.  
  
'Why am I acting like this?' Gary suddenly thought. 'This isn't like me at all. Then again I'm not myself am I?' Ash had an idea and he held Pichu up more to his chest.  
  
"What are you?" Asked Nurse Joy. Ash smiled before he gave her an answer.  
  
"When Pichu was still in it's egg, I slept with it on my chest so it could listen to my heartbeat. Maybe Pichu'll calm down a bit if she hears my heartbeat again." Gary didn't hear what Ash and Nurse Joy said.  
  
'I-I know this beat. It was outside the prison. Did-did Ash take care of me all this time?' Gary stopped crying for a moment. Gary looked up and saw Ash's smiling down at him. Then for some odd reason Gary was tilted back a ways and was held in the crook of Ash's arm again looking up at him.  
  
"Here you go." Nurse Joy said as she handed Ash the bottle. Ash took the bottle and held Pichu with one arm. Caught off guard, Gary opened his mouth and let the liquid in. Gary was so hungry and the milk was so warm that Gary was drowsy.   
  
"Like that, don't cha?" Ash soothed. Gary didn't respond. Pikachu marched out behind Ash into the cafeteria and gave Nurse Joy a thank you. Right now, Gary didn't care he was being held in someone's arms and being treated like a baby. Gary almost fell asleep when he heard more voices.  
  
"Awww. Isn't that sweet? Ash has his very own baby." Misty teased Ash. Ash turned a nice shade of red and growled a reply.  
  
"Bite me!"  
  
"No need to be rude!" Misty growled back.  
  
"Knock it off you two." Brock broke up the fight. Gary was getting full but, didn't care. "Hey Ash. You should burp Pichu so it doesn't get gas." Brock recommended.  
  
"How do I do that?" Ash asked.  
  
"Hold it like this and rub her back." Brock said copying Misty. Ash did as he was told but had a time getting the bottle away from Gary.  
  
"H-hey!" Gary said as soon as the bottle was taken away. "I was drinking that!" Gary was hoisted onto Ash's chest and his back was rubbed. Gary felt something come up and a loud burp escaped his lips.  
  
"How long do I do this for?" Ash asked. Gary didn't hear the answer, he was fast asleep.  
  
"Two minutes. That is if she doesn't throw up on you." Brock replied. Ash paled a bit. " It happens." Brock commented. Gary drifted off into peaceful dreams.  
  
"zzz-snore-zzz." Ash looked down to see Pichu fast asleep. Brock and Misty saw the sleeping pokemon and decided it was a good time to lower their voices.  
  
"That was quick. So, when do we head home?" Misty asked. Ash continued to rub Pichu's back when he answered.  
  
"I think we should head over to Pallet town tomorrow permitting that I don't have a fussy Pichu. We never did figure out a name for her yet." Misty and Brock began to fire names out.  
  
"Pika, Zap, Pam, Shocker?" Brock suggested.  
  
"No, no, yeah right and no." Ash said.  
  
"Cutie-pie, Honey, Peachy, Pika-chan, Fluffly?" Misty suggested.  
  
"Absolutely not! No! I already kyboshed that one. Uh-uh. Where did you come up with fluffy?"   
  
"When you went and dried off Pichu with the towel earlier, it fluffed up like a Hoppip." Retorted Misty.  
  
"I noticed that too. Why is that?" Ash asked. Brock was the one with the answer.  
  
"It was because of all the static electricity that Pichu had in its cheeks. When you rubbed Pichu, it caused more electricity to form and that's why it's fur went fluffy." Replied Brock. Ash smiled a wicked grin.  
  
"Thanks Brock! I know what to call her now." Ash said looking down at Pichu. Brock and Misty looked lost for a moment.   
  
"So? Don't keep us in suspense! What's her name?" Misty asked in a demanding tone.  
  
"Static. I'm sure if she's anything like you Misty, I'll get plenty of it." Ash replied.  
  
"WHAT?! Why you-" Misty growled.  
  
"See?" Ash said smugly. Misty growled a bit but settled down after a moment. "Static, what do you think Pikachu?"   
  
"I like it!"   
  
Later  
  
'Now where am I?' Gary thought as he looked around. It was dark and scary. Gary couldn't see anything it was so dark out. 'I don't like this.' Gary thought as he tried to get up. It didn't work to say the least because he was already standing up. 'I'll never get used to this height.'  
  
"What is that?" Gary asked in surprise. His eyes adjusted to the dark and saw a bed above him. A bunk bed! It was night! Gary then felt the earth below his move. "Whoa!" Gary squealed. Gary fell onto the mound he was sitting on and woke Ash up. Gary tried to stand up again.  
  
'This is going to be a lot harder than I thought with this tail.' Gary grumbled to himself. Ash watched as Static pushed itself up from a crawling position. Gary waved his small arms around in a circle to try and find his balance. When Gary was about to fall over again, a hand held him up.   
  
"What?" Gary asked out loud and saw that Ash was awake watching him. "Uh-oh" Gary said embarrassed. Ash was smiling.   
  
"If you want to learn how to walk. I can teach you tomorrow with help from Pikachu." Ash whispered. Gary was furious! Teach HIM how to WALK? Gary was the one that taught pokemon how to do flips and strong moves against an opponent. Gary didn't need anyone's help to do anything!  
  
"Listen! I'm not going to learn anything from you so don't even think about it! Hey-" Gary trailed off. Ash had picked him up under the armpits and was holding him high above his head.  
  
"Heh! You're cute for a pokemon and with my help, you'll become the best you can be; like Pikachu. I gave you a name this afternoon after you fell asleep." If Gary were human, he would have turned a shade of blue.   
  
'If he says Peachy or Sugar I'll give him such a zap.' Gary thought bitterly. 'That is, when I can figure out how I did that the first time.'  
  
"Static. So? Do you like it?" Gary let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't a girly name but he still didn't want a name. "Knew you would. Now, get some sleep, we have quite a ways to go tomorrow."  
  
"Wait! I didn't say I liked the name!" Gary squeaked as he was brought down. Ash laid Pichu on his chest and tucked in the covers. "I'm not sleepy either!" Gary protested.   
  
"Goodnight." Ash said and fell asleep. Gary was left on his chest wide-awake. Gary wasn't able to move and he stared out into the darkness of the bedroom.  
  
'How did I get myself into this?' Gary thought bitterly. 'This is Ash Ketchum. He wouldn't know the first thing about baby pokemon. In fact, he hardly knows anything about pokemon in the first place.' Gary stared at Ash's face for a moment. 'What's wrong with me?! He's my biggest rival and not a very good one at that and I can't force myself to even think bad things about him. How am I going to leave him later on when we return to Pallet?' Gary laid his head on Ash's chest and a hand stroked behind his ears.  
  
"Pichuuuu." Gary said dreamily. Then Gary knew the answer to his question; he couldn't leave Ash just yet. Gary listened to his heartbeat and decided that even if he wasn't knowledgeable, he had a good heart.  
  
'He took care of me for months in my egg, he's trying to make me as comfortable as possible and I think he loves me already. I can repay him for all the months he took care of me but his love, I can't repay him back for that.' Gary listened to Ash's breathing as it got slower and deeper as he fell asleep. 'Maybe- maybe I truly don't belong back in the life of Gary Oak. I'm just a pokemon now and they can't understand me anyway. I never was held like this as a kid and his love is unconditional already. How can I just ignore that?' Gary looked back at Ash's face and saw what he was missing as a trainer, love. 'I cared for my pokemon but, I didn't love them.' Gary realized and a tear escaped his notice as Gary fell asleep again.   
  
"Staaaaticcc." Gary moaned and turned over. "Staaaatic." Ash said again. His Pichu covered his ears with whatever was available which was with his shirt. Ash grinned. Ash had just woken up to the sunlight coming through the window and was seeing how Pichu felt about waking up.   
  
"Again Static's already taken to another of your nasty habits. Sleeping in, tsk, tsk." Misty said from the top bunk on the other bunk bed. Ash stuck out his tongue at her and nudged the pokemon again.   
  
"Staaatiiic. Time to wake up sleepyhead." Gary didn't move, Ash sighed and felt Pikachu waking up by his head. "Morning Pikachu." Ash said in greeting.   
  
"Pikachu pikapi." Was his reply. Brock, Misty, Ash and Pikachu went to breakfast later on with a still sleeping Pichu. Ash sat down when a Chansey brought out a bottle for Pichu.  
  
"Hey, wake up." Ash crooned to Static. Gary sniffed the air and recognized the milk from the other day.   
  
"Food?" Gary asked. Of course everyone at the table heard "Pichuu?" Instead of Food? Gary sat up only to be laid back even more with a bottle stuck in his mouth. Gary drank deeply into the bottle and closed his eyes. However, Gary didn't go to sleep; instead he listened in on the conversation around him.   
  
"I'll have the breakfast special." Ash ordered. Brock and Misty had the same. "So are you ready to go and see mom again Pikachu?" Ash said. Gary stopped drinking for a moment to listen.  
  
"Sure am! Can't wait to see Prof Oak too." Pikachu said in reply.  
  
"I bet you can't wait to go home to have one of your mothers pizza pot pies." Misty teased. Ash retorted with an intelligent.  
  
"With pepperoni! Can't have pizza pot pies without pepperoni!" Everyone at the table fell over with a thump. If Gary could have laughed he would have. Ash was always commenting with something to that extent, it wasn't that he was stupid or anything like that, it was how he made things interesting. Gary knew because at one point in his life, Ash and Gary got along fine, sure it was a long time ago but old habits die-hard.  
  
"Only Ash." Pikachu moaned. Gary sucked back the liquid in the bottle. Of course there was the ever-dreaded time when the bottle was taken out so he could be burped.   
  
'I could be miffed about this but-'  
  
"Burp!"   
  
'It feels too good.' Gary thought as Ash had her on his chest. 'This is going to be tough, being a pokemon and all, but maybe it'll be worth it.' Gary thought as he was given the bottle back again.' Gary listened with surprise to Ash's latest accomplishments.  
  
"So you're going after that title in the Johoto league? I still can't believe you have that many badges already." Brock asked. Ash nodded and laughed.  
  
"You know what? If I train hard with my pokemon, I'm sure we'll win it! I also have some new help here. You think I can train Pichu to at least walk by then?" Ash asked. Gary was no longer interested in the bottle.  
  
'Him train me? I don't think so.' Gary squirmed at bit in Ash's arms. 'Let me out of here. You're not going to train me to be one of your weak fighting pokemon!' Gary thought.  
  
"Ash! That league is on in four months! Pichu might evolve before then." Ash stopped and thought about it.   
  
"Your right. Anything could happen between now and then." Gary moaned inwardly and finished off the bottle. Ash looked down and saw Pichu finish off the bottle. "Someone was hungry this morning. Lets see if you can try to walk yet."  
  
"Better try to make her stand first." Brock suggested. Ash picked up Gary and set him on the table. Gary sat down and was not impressed.  
  
"I can learn to walk on my own thank you!" Gary growled. Gary pushed forward on his front paws from a crawling position. The force from the push made him stand up straight but he couldn't keep his balance for some reason. Gary then was about to pitch himself back down on the table when Ash decided to lend a helping hand. Ash kept Pichu from falling backwards by grabbing Pichu's small paw and holding her from the back.  
  
"Grab onto me and use me for support." Ash suggested. Gary was about to slap Ash's hand away when he thought of something.  
  
'He said grab onto me. USE me for support. Ash is trying to help me help myself. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't have done the same. I would be taking the credit if one of my baby pokemon walked on it's own.' Gary then grabbed onto Ash's fingers with two tiny paws. Ash then held his fingers high in the air over Pichu's head and helped Pichu walk.  
  
"That's it! You can do it!" Ash encouraged. Gary on the other hand was trying to figure out why it was so difficult to walk.   
  
'I've walked before. Why is it so hard for me to find my balance? Wait a minute!' Gary looked behind him and remembered something. 'I have a tail to contend with! No wonder I'm shaky. I'm trying to stand like a human with all this extra weight on the back.' Gary then tried to move his tail.  
  
"Look at that!" Misty cried out in surprise. For the first time ever, instead of trying to walk, Gary was experimenting with moving his tail around. Ash couldn't really see but got the general idea.  
  
"Good girl! Come on Static. One foot out in front of the other." Ash said disgustingly sweet. Gary put one foot in front of the other, waving his tail around for balance. Ash's smile was something to be seen. Gary looked up and saw an amazing sight. Ash was excited and proud at the same time. Gary never had that look in his eyes when training a pokemon. Suddenly, Gary let go of Ash's hands and stood up on his own.  
  
"Whoah!" Cried Pikachu in surprise. Pikachu hopped onto the table and held out his arms. "Come here Static. Come on!" Gary was surprised at Pikachu's actions. Pikachu wanted Gary to come to him.   
  
"Go to Pikachu Static." Ash encouraged. Gary looked up at Ash and saw the pride again.  
  
'But I want to go to you.' Gary thought. Gary wanted to be held high above Ash's head like when he talked to him last night, Gary wanted to be fed in the crook of his arm, Gary wanted to sleep on Ash's warm shoulder. Gary didn't want to go to Pikachu. However, the look in his eyes was one of encouragement that Gary couldn't refuse.   
  
"Right." Gary said. Gary took his first step without Ash towards Pikachu and wobbled some. Another step, another shaky balance and on the third step Gary was at Pikachu.  
  
"Yaaaay!" Gary was suddenly startled by the cheers around him and-  
  
"Pichuuuuuuu!" Gary accidentally shocked everyone at the table. It wasn't a major shock but it still hurt. Gary fell over on his rump again and tears threatened to fall.  
  
"You did it Pichu!" Ash said suddenly. Gary felt two strong hands take him by the waist and hold him high in the air. Gary stopped the waterworks for a moment and heard Ash laughing! Gary saw the look of pure joy on Ash's face and felt jealous. Gary was never this happy on his pokemon journey. Maybe it was time Gary faced reality.  
  
'I'm a pokemon now and a girl. I'm no longer Gary Oak. I'm Static, one of Ash Ketchum's pokemon and I think I can be happy.' Gary had a wicked idea.  
  
"Pichuuuu!" Static cried again. Tears fell down the Pichu's face and Ash held the pokemon close to his heart again.  
  
'That's better.' Static thought just before she fell asleep.  
  
Author Note: Like it? I won't make a sequel unless someone tells me if I should or not. At least one person should give me their opinion.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon or anything related to pokemon. Pokemon and its associated characters are copyrighted by Nintendo/Game Freak. This is a pokemon fanfic created by my mind only.  
  



	2. Chapter 2 The contest

Next day  
  
"So, where are we headed?" Misty asked offhand. Ash was sighing and in the lead of the new trio of humans and trio of pokemon. Gary was being carried by Ash, Misty had Togepi and Brock was kind enough to have Pikachu on his shoulder.  
  
"I don't know. We can't leave until we get enough money for more tickets and that means-"  
  
"More pokemon battles!" Pikachu piped up. Gary watched the pair communicate and began to wonder.  
  
'Can Ash truly understand Pikachu? I wonder if he'll be able to understand me." Then Gary shook his head to clear his mind of such thoughts. Of course Ash'll be able to understand him! Gary knew how to pull Ash's strings Static will too! 'I'm not eating that dumb pokefood forever!'  
  
"Hey guys! Look at this!" Misty suddenly jeered. Gary was brought over to a telephone pole with a poster on it. Gary froze at what he saw. It read:  
  
Pokemon Baby Contest!  
Bring in your little adorable and win big!  
First Prize 20000 Yen  
Second Prize 10000 Yen  
Third Prize A Pokemon Baby Stroller  
Goldenrod recreation Center June 15-  
  
Before Gary could read anymore, Ash was running down the street with him.   
  
"Slow down!" Gary squeaked in his Pichu voice. Pikachu was running right behind Ash sighing.  
  
"Here we go again!" Before Gary could wonder what was going on, Ash came to a screeching halt in front of a desk.  
  
"Is this where I register for the Pokemon baby contest?" Ash managed to pant out. Gary slowly opened one eye to see if he was still alive and saw a woman at a registration table.  
  
'HE WOULDN'T!' Gary thought in alarm.  
  
"Yes. We need your pokedex or other form of I.D. and the name if the pokemon you want to enter." Ash pulled out his pokedex and handed it to the lady. Ash watched her put it through a computer and it gave a loud ding of approval. "Here you are and your pokemon?"  
  
"This little girl here. Her name's-Static!" Ash said annoyed. Gary still had a death grip on his black shirt and wasn't about to let go.  
  
"Don't you dare Ketchum!" Static growled. "I'm not going in a stupid baby contest! NO! NONONONO!"  
  
"It seems that your Pichu doesn't want to leave you. That's fine. You can go and help out backstage with the opening. It starts with a fashion show, then a few pokemon tests and it then we finish with a pokemon battle." Ash stopped for a moment.  
  
"I don't think that's a good idea Ash." Pikachu chimed in. Of course Ash couldn't understand Pikachu but was considering his options.  
  
"How do they base the winner?" Ash asked carefully. The woman at the registers desk giggled.  
  
"It's basically judged on how old your pokemon is and what it knows. Then they add up points and decide the winner." Ash's eye lit up and he smiled.  
  
'NOOOOOOOOOO!' Gary groaned inwardly. This was not going to be a pleasant experience. Of course Static wasn't going to make it a pleasant experience for Ash either. 'There is no way I'm going to let Ash get away with this unscathed.'  
  
"Ash!" Ash sweatdropped and he turned around slowly to see a very angry Misty. Gary saw Misty's face a second later and felt the same sweatdrop form on his head and he almost fainted in fear.  
  
'Maybe I should leave Ash alone. Misty seems to be more than enough trouble for ANY guy!'  
  
"I should bash you over the head you clod!" Ash backed away from Misty as she pulled back a fist. Gary thought that this might be a good time to remind Misty that he was still there before he got clobbered with a mallet.  
  
"MISTY!" Gary squeaked in fear. Misty backed off when she heard the small, pathetic mewling from Static. Pikachu sighed and sweatdropped along with Brock. Then Misty turned to Brock who had just caught up with them.  
  
"Brock, would you take Static from Ash for a moment so I knock the idiot senseless?" Ash, in fear, clutched tighter to Gary. Then, before anything else could happen, a bell chimed over the P.A. and a sweet voice came after it.  
  
"Would all the participants in the annual baby pokemon contest report backstage for the pokemon fashion show. Thank you." Ash seized the opportunity to escape the terrifying anger of Misty and said a quick goodbye and RAN FOR IT!  
  
'Ash is a lot smarter then I gave him credit for.' Gary smirked to himself. Gary watched Ash duck behind a door that read backstage as soon as he heard the voice.  
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M TOO LATE TO REGISTER!?! ASH!!!!!!!!!!!!" Static, Pikachu and Ash slammed the door behind them as they let out a breath of relief.   
  
"That was too close." Ash murmured under his breath. Then they looked around and blushed immediately. Backstage there was nothing but cute girls and their baby pokemon. Ash had never seen so many different baby pokemon at once. There were igglybuff, cleffa, smoochum, elekid, togepi, magby and other pichu. Ash never felt so uncomfortable in his life as all eyes went to him. Gary on the other hand was beaming with all the attention he was getting.  
  
'You still have the old Oak charm Gary!' Gary then realized that he wasn't Gary Oak anymore and that all the girls were looking at Ash. One of the girls that wasn't holding a baby pokemon came over to Ash.  
  
"A last minute entry I see. Come and I'll see if we have an extra bath for your pokemon." Ash could nod and follow. All eyes followed Ash as he walked through the backstage area.   
  
"Um-" Ash started to say. As if the woman could read his mind she answered his question.  
  
"We don't get many male baby pokemon trainers. You're probably the first boy in here with a baby pokemon. Tell me, is the Pikachu that followed you in the parent?"  
  
"WHAT!!?!!" Pikachu demanded. Ash's reaction was a blush.  
  
"I don't think so." Ash said in a small voice. Ash then gave Pikachu a look that gave the question are you? Pikachu's arms waved his arms around and shook his head wildly in a no gesture.  
  
"NO! There is no way and no how I'm a father! I didn't do it! I SWEAR!" Gary sweatdropped and sighed.   
  
'Yet another day in the life of a pokemon, things can't get any worse then this.' Gary was wrong. Oh, was he ever wrong. After a soothing bath that Gary came out smelling like perfume (Ewwww!). Gary liked perfume just fine ON GIRLS!!! Gary then came to the horrific realization that he was a girl when they entered the girl section of the fashion show.  
  
"GET AWAY FROM ME! I SWEAR I'LL SHOCK YOU! LEAVE ME ALONE KETCHUM! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! Sob, please don't make me." Gary pleaded. Ash sighed at his baby pokemon desperately trying to get away from him.  
  
"Pikachu, a little help here?" Ash asked his electric type. Pikachu, who's sides were hurting from all the laughter, sat up. Gary looked at Ash and then Pikachu and back to Ash again.  
  
'HE'S GOING TO DO IT!' Gary realized in alarm. Pikachu walked over to the struggling pokemon and sighed.   
  
"DON'T DO IT PIKACHU!" Gary pleaded for the last time. Pikachu reached over and snapped the bow into place. Gary was let up and he looked into the mirror defeated. A BIG, BUSHY PINK BOW was strapped to Gary's neck. Gary knew that he would never get the bow off without help.   
  
'I SWEAR I'll get you for this KETCHUM!' Gary growled inwardly at Ash. Ash looked at the obvious frustrated look on his pokemon's face and tried to comfort it.   
  
"You know if Misty had it her way, you would be wearing a bow TWICE that size EVERY DAY! Togepi is a guy, so the bow thing isn't a happening thing. Be grateful that she isn't back here either. She would have made you wear this!" Ash held up a bow three times as big and flashy with frills and lace. Gary turned blue.   
  
"No one is that cruel!" Gary scoffed. Pikachu sniggered. Gary then remembered that he was responsible for this too. "What are you laughing at, you're in my black book too!" Gary growled.  
  
"Be thankful you're not with that girl over there. Sometimes gender doesn't stop females." Gary looked into the dressing booth next to him and tried his best not to laugh. The male Pichu was wearing a blue bow identical to the one Ash had held up. Gary snickered, snorted and then burst out laughing. The male pokemon heard the laughter and looked around for the voice he was going to shock.  
  
"WHO'S LAUGHING!" Demanded the male Pichu. Gary slipped back down into the stall he was assigned and continued to laugh. The female trainer looked around for the cute little laugh and found Gary.   
  
"Oh! WHAT AN ADORABLE PICHU!" Ash and Pikachu watched as Gary was lifted up and examined by the girl.   
  
"Hey! Put me down!" Gary demanded. The girl looked Gary over and sat him down again. Before she sat Gary down she gave him a tickle that made Gary laugh again.  
  
"I'm Liz! This is my little guy Buzz. Isn't he adorable?" Ash sweatdropped when Buzz was placed into his personal space of his face.   
  
"He's uh-cute!" Ash replied dumbly. Not noticing where she had sat down Buzz, she attacked Pikachu next with her oh so cute attitude. Ash didn't know what to do when she attracted a crowd to Pikachu.   
  
"YOU WERE THE ONE LAUGHING AT ME!" Gary sweatdropped at the sound of Buzz's voice beside him. Buzz had been sat down with Gary in his stall.  
  
'UH OH!' Gary turned to the male pokemon and saw fire in his eyes. Gary knew he was toast unless he did something and fast. Gary's mind raced as he recalled what his sister would normally do to diffuse Gary when he was extremely angry. Gary shuddered inwardly and put a sweet smile on Static's face.   
  
"Yes I was laughing, but it wasn't at you cutie." Gary said with eyes sparkling and a warm smile. Gary watched in relief as the male hormones in the Pichu turned on. All anger was forgotten and the male blushed at Gary and put on a smile himself.  
  
"Uh-uh-uh." Was all the Pichu could say.  
  
'Geez! This guy makes Ash look good!' Gary groaned.   
  
"You really think I'm cute?" Buzz finally squeaked out. Gary decided to go along with it and smiled sweetly.  
  
"How could you not be with that bow?" Gary tried not to gag on the words. Then Gary realized something! This Pichu could understand him! Buzz replied before it came to full circle in his mind.  
  
"Don't remind me! I'm glad I don't have to do this all the time! I wish I had a male trainer like yours. This is soooo embarrassing! What's your name?"  
  
"Static." Gary replied offhand. Buzz stick out his paw and smiled.  
  
"I'm Buzz! Nice to meet someone who won't give me the 'Aww how cute!' face. If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" Buzz said curious.  
  
"I'm three days old." Gary replied quietly. Buzz gave a loud Pichu!  
  
"What!" Gary was about to respond with a what's wrong when Liz grabbed him.   
  
"Oh and this is his Pichu!" Gary was given to a large gaggle of girls. Gary felt himself being passed around like a rag doll.   
  
"ASH HELP!" Gary squeaked. Ash's green gloves went into the group and pulled him out. Pichu grasped Ash's shirt and wasn't about to let go. Gary never did want to let go of Ash's warm embrace, but right now there was an extremely good reason why he didn't want to go. Then, a loud warning growl was heard.  
  
"PIKA!" All the girls backed away from Ash.   
  
"I'm sorry. Pikachu's really protective of Static." Ash apologized. All the girls made eyes at Ash. Ash backed up again for the second time that day. The show starting saved ash from losing his pokemon again.   
  
"Places! Get your pokemon ready." Ash was quickly forgotten and they were left alone.   
  
'Now that was close.' Gary thought with a sigh. Ash re-straightened Gary's bow and brushed his fur.  
  
"I think they want you to do a pose as well as walk up there. Do you have any ideas Pikachu?" Ash asked Pikachu as they were called.   
  
"If you have to do a pose, wink at the audience and give them a peace sign and say victory! It's Ash's and mine trademark." Pikachu demonstrated and then Gary was taken from Ash.  
  
'I'll get you for this ASH!' Gary felt his insides do a flip flop. Gary had never gone in front of judges before. Gary was set down on top of a pedestal and left there.   
  
"Ash?" Gary whined when he was alone. Gary was tempted to go find his trainer when he noticed the other pokemon. To each side of him were two cleffas, there were three smoochums on the level below them and on the floor were two magbys and one igglybuff. There were two other pedestals like the one Gary was on top of and he spotted Buzz.  
  
'There are a lot of baby's here, I wonder what they meant by test's.' Gary didn't have time to think another thought as the curtain went up. 'Ack!' Gary had never seen so many people cram into a room like this. Gary and the rest of the baby's froze. Then a large booming voice came up with a mike.  
  
"Here they are folks! The cutest pokemon of all! Welcome to the baby show! Now all babies are required to do their traditional pose when I introduce them. First Clea the Cleffa!" The cleffa looked around in fear and froze. Gary turned to the trainer trying to desperately get Clea to do her pose.   
  
"Cleffa!" It finally squeaked. Gary saw the judges mark their papers and Gary sighed. This was going to be a looong day. It gradually got better as their names were called but not by much. Finally it was the Pichu's turn.  
  
"Buzz the Pichu!" Buzz gave out a nervous laugh and he blushed.  
  
"H-HI!" Buzz said loudly. Gary groaned.   
  
'At least it was better than a few of them.' Gary sighed. Gary then saw Ash on the side. Ash gave Static a wink and Pikachu gave a thumbs up in encouragement. Gary smiled. Ash was always giving him encouragement.  
  
"Next we have Static the Pichu!" Gary didn't hesitate.  
  
"Peace!" Gary struck the pose Pikachu had done earlier. Instantly, the crowd woke up to the cute 'Pichu!'. A loud sigh was heard from the crowd and Gary smiled brightly.   
  
'That got their attention!' Gary thought triumphantly. However, the three togepi's behind Static had a hard time to do anything now that the crowd was wide awake. The curtain went down and Pichu was picked up by Ash.  
  
"You did great Static!" Ash said with a grin.   
  
"Natch!" Gary replied and soon they were all ushered into the largest room. Ash was in awe and Pikachu let out a small whistle.  
  
"This place is huge!" Pikachu exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah wow!" Ash agreed. Gary sweatdropped. This wasn't that big of a room.   
  
'This is going to be embarrassing.' Gary groaned. Then Gary was roughly grabbed from Ash.   
  
"Hey!" Gary growled. The man that had grabbed him, put him in a glass container. Gary saw Ash come after him and was stopped by the man. Gary saw Ash angrily talk to the stranger and when the man replied, Ash's expression softened.   
  
'What's going on?' Gary watched as Ash was pulled behind a blue curtain.  
  
"Ash!" Gary began to tap on the glass and sighed in relief when he saw his silhouette behind the curtain.   
  
'They want Ash out of sight for a while. This must be part of the test.' Gary was alert as he realized he wasn't the only one being tested. Soon, Gary was bored. Gary was sitting nicely waiting for something to happen and he yawned. When Gary opened his eyes from the yawn, there was the silliest looking monster mask propped up against the glass. Gary looked at it and had a squiggle for a mouth.  
  
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Gary couldn't contain his laughter. Gary got a look of distain from the volunteer through the mask as the pokemon bent over in laughter. Gary saw Ash as he was called out from behind the curtain. The volunteer talked to Ash gave him the mask and pointed to Gary. Ash gave out what looked like a laugh. Ash threw the mask behind him and went behind the curtain for a moment. Gary heard a tap on the other side of the glass and saw Pikachu there smiling. Pikachu amused Gary for a while and then Ash came into view behind Pikachu.   
  
'What we he doing all this time?' Gary wondered. Another light tap on the glass made Gary look behind him. Gary jumped five feet in the air and gave the biggest thundershock he had ever given at what was staring him in the face. Misty was holding up THE PINK BOW!!!!!   
  
"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" Gary growled. There was a sudden pop and Gary saw everyone in the vicinity duck. There was a shower of glass and Gary sweatdropped. When Gary was let out, he saw the remains of a light bulb and a crowd of awed people. Gary had never been so embarrassed in all his life!  
  
"Next is the Pokemon battle! We're going to win this! Right Static? Static?" Ash looked down at Static.   
  
"Maybe you should drop out of the battle Ash. Static might not be strong enough to battle." Ash gestured back to the dead light bulb. Misty shut up. Gary wasn't as sure as Ash about the pokemon battle. Gary was a trainer but he never actually had a fight before. Before Gary knew it, Ash had set him down so he could go into the battling area. His opponent: the only elekid.   
  
"Ash.." Gary said nervously. Gary then noticed that the elekid was in the same boat as him. The elekid wasn't confidant as Gary had been in the introductions. Ash gave Static a pat on the head and smiled.  
  
"Don't worry. I know you'll try your best." Gary looked up and saw Ash's eyes and felt something on the inside melt.   
  
'How does he do that!?!' Gary growled as he walked into the area. 'This bites!' Gary growled. Gary waited for the elekid to enter.   
  
"You can do it Static!" Gary looked over to the sidelines and saw Misty there with Brock and Togepi. Gary grew even bolder with someone boosting his ego. Then the elekid entered the battle area. Gary sighed and tensed.   
  
"Start!" The announcer began the battle.  
  
"Go Ellie! Give that pipsqueak a thunderpunch." The electric pokemon raised it's fist shaking and built up electricity.   
  
"Quick! Give it a tailwhip!" Ash ordered. Gary looked at Ash confused.   
  
'Moron! You have to teach me these moves first.' Gary ducked the punch and gave the pokemon a slap in the face with his tail. Ash gave a whoop and smiled as the elekid backed off.   
  
"Don't give up! Try a quick attack!" The other trainer called.   
  
"Watch out! Try a thundershock!" Ash called out. Gary gulped and waited until the elekid was almost on top of him.  
  
"Thundershock!" Gary cried out. A jolt of medium sized electricity zapped the elekid. Gary barely had time to move out of the way as the pokemon fainted.  
  
"Static wins the match!" Gary had no time to celebrate because he was swooped up into his trainer's arms.   
  
"Way to go Static!" Gary smiled as he was lifted high into the air. Gary squealed and sighed.  
  
'Now this is what I want.' Gary loved this feeling, to know that he was unconditionally loved by Ash and happy to make him proud. Gary never wanted the feeling of joy to go away.  
  
"You rule kid!" Pikachu cheered. Elekid was recalled into a pokeball and they went to the side. Gary was proudly set down on Ash's lap and then Ash remembered something.  
  
"You did great! Maybe we should try out your thunderwave next match." Gary sighed and put his head on Ash's lap. Ash softly began to rub his fur and Gary almost fell asleep. That is, until the next match went up. It was between a cleffa and igglybuff. Gary watched the two equally scared pokemon battle. It took forever! Gary shuddered when Ash stopped rubbing.  
  
"That felt good!" Gary moaned. Gary looked up at Ash with big eyes and noticed Ash's attention was out at the ring. It was a new match between a smoochum and a magby.  
  
"Give it a lick Smoochy!"   
  
"Ember! Maggie!" The ember attack missed the smoochum and the lick paralyzed magby. Magby fell over with a thud.  
  
"Smoochy wins the battle!" Gary didn't pay attention anymore. If they were put up against the smoochum, advantage type alone would have assured victory. Ash began to rub again and Gary sighed. Gary liked having Ash give him attention. It was the most pleasant experience Gary ever had.  
  
"Your up next Ash!" Misty squealed. Gary jumped up in alarm. Where was he? What was going on? Memories jumped back at Gary with a start. Gary relaxed and Ash picked up Static.   
  
"Ready to go girl?" Ash said with a small smile. Gary gave a small smile in return and winked.   
  
"Let's do it!" Gary walked out into the battling arena and stopped. In the middle of the battlefield was none other then the smoochum Gary had seen earlier.   
  
'Easy out!' Gary cheered in his mind. Gary tenses and waited.   
  
"Begin!" The flag was dropped and the battle began.  
  
"Go give it a lick Smoochy!" Gary was ready and waiting.  
  
"Thunderwave Static!" Gary waited and sent out a small bit of electricity that paralyzed the oncoming pokemon.  
  
"Smoooooch!" The pokemon cried in shock. Gary tensed waiting for Ash to give the order to finish it off. When the smoochum didn't get back up, Gary was concered.   
  
"Static wins the match!" Ash grabbed Static and threw her up in the air excited. Gary forgot all about the downed Smoochum and giggled. This was the best reward anyone could give as far as he was concerned.   
  
"You did it! That's my little girl!" Gary was brought to the side once again to watch the other matches. Gary sat and got bored once again and fell asleep under Ash's magic hands. Unlike the first time Gary had fallen asleep at the battles, Gary dreamed of being Gary.  
  
Dream Sequence  
  
"That's my baby!" Gary looked up to see May's outstretched arms and he was wobbling towards her. Gary couldn't have been more than eight months but walking none-the-less. Gary made his way to May and she held him happily bouncing up and down. "Mommy! Gary walked! Gary walked."   
  
"Mommy's busy now May! Go bug your father."   
  
"But mommy-" May began to say.  
  
"Mayyy!" Gary's mother gave a warning tone and May went back to cooing over Gary. The dream blurred to another time in Gary's life with his father.  
  
"I-I fell ah-ah an scraped m-muh-my leg!" A small Gary about three sobbed. The man in the chair angrily slammed down his phone and glared at Gary. Gary gulped down his tears and backed off.  
  
"Gary! You can't come to me every time you hurt yourself! You have to learn to be independent like me! Quit whining and do something about it yourself!" Gary was ignored once again as the phone rang. Gary turned out of the room and into the bathroom. There, he found band aids and put one un-expertly on his owie. The dream shifted again to another time in his small life.  
  
"Hi! Who are you?" Gary looked up to see a younger boy with black hair and big brown eyes looking at him. Gary shyly blushed and held out a book.  
  
"I-I'm just reading." Gary said in a low tone. The boy giggled and snatched the book away from the boy. "H-Hey!" Gary squeaked trying to get the book back.   
  
"WOW! Look at all the pokemon! I like pokemon too! Can I read this with you?" Gary stopped short. Who was this kid?   
  
"I-I guess so." The boy smiled and plopped down on the rug next to Gary. Gary was surprised to see a warm smile that was infectious.   
  
"I'm Ash." Ash said with a toothy grin. Gary didn't know what to do so he simply copied Ash.  
  
"I'm Gary." Gary said with a toothy grin. After slowly reading the pokemon picture book, Ash asked if Gary wanted to go outside and play. Gary agreed and they went to the oaks front door when.  
  
"ASH!" Gary watched the boy cringe. "Where do you think you're going? Where's your jacket young man!" Ash looked up to see his mother and he squirmed under her direct gaze.   
  
"Outside?" Ash said hopefully. Gary watched enviously as Ash's mother made a fuss over him and made him put on his jacket.   
  
End Dream Sequence.  
  
"We're in the final's Static! Look!" Gary was snapped awake by a hand shaking him. Gary woke up with a start remembering the dreams and he went a little teary eyed. That was all in the past. Gary was a pokemon now. Gary would never feel like that again. Ash would never try to ignore him or get angry when he tried to ask for the little things.  
  
"Look Ash! Static's all choked up about this." Gary wiped away the tears and looked up at the scoreboard. It was true! Ash and him were the last battle based on points and attacks. Gary's eyes roamed to the other side where the opponents where.  
  
"Buzz!" Gary couldn't believe his eyes! Buzz was their next opponent. Static was picked up and walked over to the arena. Gary sadly went onto the field and waited. Buzz was just as reluctant to fight as Gary.   
  
"Sorry about this." Buzz muttered.   
  
'So am I.' Gary thought. Ash looked at the pokemon and he had a wicked idea form in his head. Ash grabbed out his pokedex and scanned for Static's attacks. Ash smiled at what he saw.  
  
"Begin!" Gary tensed and waited for the first order.  
  
"Go Buzz! Give it a tackle attack!" Gary saw Buzz come at her with an alarming speed.  
  
"Charm it Static." Without thinking about the order. Gary took a deep breath and flicked the bow he was still wearing. Buzz slowed. Gary opened his eyes wide and gave the closest thing a pokemon could do to a batting of eyelashes. Buzz stopped directly in front of Gary.  
  
"Oh no! Snap out of it Buzz!" Buzz shook his head to try and clear his thoughts.  
  
"Now give it a sweet kiss Static!" Ash called out. Before Buzz could move, Gary grabbed the side of Buzz's face with his paws and gave it a kiss. Buzz fell backwards with a sigh.  
  
"Static and Ash are the winners!" Gary looked down at Buzz who was sleeping peacefully and let out a giggle. Maybe being a pokemon had it's perks after all. Gary found himself in a blur of events after that. There was the awards ceremony and the ribbon ceremony for first prize. Ash had done a little dance all the way back to the pokemon center.   
  
"You did great Static! You're a natural fighter." Ash was beaming with pride and as soon as they walked through the doors of the pokemon center…  
  
"Grooooowl!" Gary sweatdropped and moaned. Not this stupid predicament again! Ash laughed as did Misty and Brock. They sat down at the table for an early dinner. Gary waited anxiously for his dinner. When the bottle came, Gary's ears perked up and he smiled.   
  
'I'm so hungry!' Gary was suddenly shuffled into Ash's arms again and tipped back. Gary held the bottle and listened to the conversation between Ash and company.  
  
"I never thought you would actually win Ash!" Misty said suddenly. That stopped everyone at the table.  
  
"What?" Ash demeanor changed from relaxed to annoyed. "Why do you say that!?!" Ash demanded. Gary shoved the bottle out of his mouth.   
  
"I want to know that as well!" Gary growled. Misty saw Static and Ash glaring at her and she sighed.  
  
"Static hatched three days ago! Those pokemon that you battled against were at least three months old!"  
  
"Yeah! SO?" Ash growled. Brock had sat back and thought about it a moment.   
  
"It's a miracle that you battled let alone won!" Misty shot in. "Those pokemon should have had Static for breakfast!"  
  
"WHAT!?!" The tone Ash used reminded Gary of a certain Professor Oak when he got angry.  
  
"Think about it Ash! Odds are that since Static has only been walking since yesterday, you shouldn't have won." Brock intervened. Ash calmed down a little and it soothed Gary's own hurt pride.  
  
'I think I'll zap them both when Ash isn't around.' Gary thought to himself miffed. Ash put the bottle back in his mouth and Gary felt that warm feeling return.   
  
"Static is special. Just like Pikachu here. She's smart, strong and healthy. There wasn't a reason in the whole world why she wouldn't have won." Ash said in a small voice. Brock and Misty exchanged a knowing look and sighed. Gary finished the bottle and was being rubbed to burp.   
  
"You're going to make a fine father one day you know that." Brock teased. Ash stopped rubbing and stared at Brock. Brock saw Ash's startled face and snickered. "It's true! Look at the way you spoil Static."  
  
"I don't spoil Static!" Ash protested.  
  
'Oh yes you do.' Gary thought just before falling asleep. 'You spoil me much more than you'll ever know.' Ash heard a sleepy sigh and noticed that Static had fallen asleep. Brock crossed his arms as if to make a point.  
  
"Ok. So maybe I spoil her a little." Ash said embarrassed. Gary-No-Static slept peacefully on Ash's shoulder, dreaming of waking up and being in Ash's arms.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon or anything related to pokemon. Pokemon and its associated characters are copyrighted by Nintendo/Game Freak. This is a pokemon fanfic created by my mind only. So don't sue me please? (Big anime eyes shimmering)  



	3. Chapter 3 Growing up

Chapter3 Growing up  
"Great! This is all your fault Ash!"   
  
"My fault? How is it my fault that the magnet trains had to be sent in for re-maintenance?" Static woke up to arguing voices.   
  
'Let me go back to sleep.' Gary silently begged. Static was still worn out from the previous day's activities. Misty had insisted that they stay in Goldenrod to shop and that meant wandering around to malls, department stores and lastly (shudder) a pokemon boutique! Misty spent the latter half of an entire day in that stupid boutique trying to dress Static up. Static was exhausted after the ordeal and literally collapsed into Ash's warm, SAFE arms.  
  
"If you hadn't made us miss the train the first time, we wouldn't have to walk all the way back to Pallet." Static groggily opened one eye.  
  
"Hold everything! I didn't make you guys miss anything! If memory serves me correctly, Static was the one that made us miss the train because SHE HATCHED! It couldn't be helped!" Ash roared at Misty.   
  
'This is going to stop and I mean now!' Static opened her mouth and let loose and yell.  
  
"PIIIIICHHHUUUUUUU!" Gary began to cry. Ash and Misty jumped apart and Ash's attention immediately went to the crying pokemon in his arms.  
  
"What a way to wake up." Ash moaned. Gary felt himself being lifted out of his sling that Ash had acquired in the shopping spree to give his arms a rest.  
  
'You got that right.' Ash lifted Static up to his chest so she would slow up. Gary's head automatically went to one side so he could listen to Ash's heartbeat. To Static, it was the most comforting sound in the entire world.  
  
"Someone sounds cranky this morning." Brock observed. Gary closed his eyes and began to let up his cries. Static snuggled into the warmth of Ash's brand new black T-shirt and tried to go back to sleep.  
  
"Is it just me or does Static cry more than Togepi?" Misty asked perturbed that their conversation was so quickly forgotten.  
  
"Are you calling Static a crybaby!?! If you are, you're looking for trouble!" Ash challenged. Misty smirked at Ash's predictable reaction and was about to say something when.  
  
"Did someone say trouble?" Instantly, Ash tensed.  
  
"Prepare for trouble," A voice from the trees called.  
  
"And make it double," echoed her male cohort.  
  
"To protect the world from devastation."  
  
"To unite all people within our nation."  
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above."  
  
"Jessie!"  
  
"James!"  
  
"Team rocket blast off at the speed of light."  
  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight."  
  
"Meowth, that's right."   
  
"It's team rocket!" Ash, Misty and Brock echoed. Gary struggled to turn himself around in Ash's now tightened grip.   
  
'It those idiots.' Gary remembered the team rocket members that had tried to steal the pokemon from his grandfather's lab and almost succeeded. 'Not a problem, Ash can deal with these morons. I hope.'  
  
"Meowth! What's that there?" The talking Meowth had spotted him! The two human members stopped what they were doing and also took a glance.  
  
"It seems that the twerp has a new pokemon." James said looking at Static. Jessie hit him in the head.  
  
"Obviously! Idiot! Stop yapping and start grabbing!" Gary watched as the trio disappeared into the bush.  
  
"What was that all about?" Ash asked stupidly. Static resisted the urge to zap her trainer. It was painfully obvious that they hadn't sprung the real trap yet. Ash and company backed off when a huge cloud of dirt almost flattened the bush they had disappeared into.   
  
"Uh oh." Static hadn't noticed that Pikachu was on Ash's shoulder during this whole time. Gary looked up to see what Pikachu thought was trouble. Static let out a startled squeak as a huge battle airship pulled up into view.   
  
"Ash!" Static whimpered. It was a huge version of the Meowth balloon that almost looked like a blimp!  
  
"Surrender that Pikachu!" Jessie said from above. Gary in any normal circumstance might have surrendered his pokemon. There was no possible way any sort of pokemon could defeat that thing! Then, Gary learned the real difference between himself and Ash.  
  
"Never in a million years team rocket. Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Static was so startled that she almost shocked Ash. Ash was actually going to battle this thing? It was suicidal! There was no way Pikachu was going to listen to Ash on this one.  
  
"Right!" Static watched in awe as the pokemon did as Ash commanded. Gary saw the electricity bounce off the balloon and strike a tree nearby.  
  
"Nice try twerp!" Jessie laughed from inside the balloon. "You won't defeat us like that. Now Meowth." Jessie commanded.  
  
"Coming at ya!" Meowth gloated in his heavy brooklyn accent. Static squealed in alarm as a pair of gloves came from inside the ship and scoop Pikachu up before he had a chance to hit the ground.  
  
"PIKACHU!" Ash ran to grab the hands that had his starter pokemon trapped. Ash grabbed the hands and a tug-a-war started between team rocket and Ash. Static watched still in the sling as the sweat came to Ash's brows in his effort not to lose his friend.  
  
"Give it up kid!" Called Meowth from the balloon. Ash's reply was a heartfelt, heartbreaking experience for Gary.  
  
"Never!" Static was the only one to hear the next whisper. "I'll never let you take Pikachu."   
  
"Ash." Static said awed. A dribble of sweat dropped on Static's nose awaking the pokemon's fighting spirit. "That does it!" Gary turned in the sling and gave a look of pure venom at the blimp.  
  
"STATIC!" Ash yelled in alarm. Static had just suddenly leapt from her sling and was running up the mechanical arms to the source of the trouble.  
  
"What the?" James gasped as a yellow blur came shooting up at them. "Jessie!" He squeaked in alarm.  
  
"Don't let go of that Pikachu!" Jessie snarled. "Full power Meowth!"   
  
"Jessie!" James whimpered again.  
  
"Full power on Meowth!"   
  
"JESSIE!" James ducked as Gary came through the hole that was cut in the balloon for their mechanical hands. A very tiny and very cute growl was heard.  
  
"PiiiiiCHUUUUUU!" A mighty thundershock blasted whatever it could. The controls where devastated by the electric current and began to explode.  
  
"AAAAAAA!" Screamed the three rockets in unison. Down below, Pikachu was let go of. "Look's like team rockets blasting off again!"  
  
"Pikachu! Go find Static!" Ash ran after the balloon as Pikachu went up the same way as Static did. Suddenly, the mechanical arm was dropped and Pikachu fell.  
  
"Ash!" Pikachu called out. Ash saw what was happening to the balloon and his blood froze. It looked like a massive fireball in the making and worse yet, Pikachu's way up had been blown off.   
  
"I choose you! Catch Pikachu Noctowl!" A bird pokemon materialized out of the pokeball Ash had thrown and it began to fly at the blazing inferno.  
  
"Gotcha!" Pikachu was quickly saved by the smaller bird pokemon. Pikachu, however did not think that this battle was over yet.  
  
"We have to find Static! Hurry to the blimp!" The panicked pokemon yelled.  
  
"Who's Static?" Asked Noctowl.  
  
"Never mind! Just get me to that blimp!" Ash watched fearful of his pokemon's life as they neared the blimp. Then, it exploded.  
  
"NOCTOWL!PIKACHU!" Misty and Brock saw Ash sink to his knees. "STAAAAATIIIIIC!" The scream came out as an unearthly howl to the heavens above.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
'Where am I?' Gary tried to open his eyes to no avail. 'I didn't die again did I?' Suddenly, there was a soft touch at his fur. 'I'm alive!'  
  
"Pikachu?" Gary whimpered. The tongue vanished at Static's pitiful mewling. "Ash?" Static tried to move only to yelp in pain.  
  
'My leg!' Static whimpered in pain. It was cut pretty badly. 'Now I remember!' Static had hurt her leg by jumping out of the blimp and landing roughly in a tree. Static couldn't hold on to the tree limb so she had a very rough landing on her leg.  
  
"Ash?" Gary asked scared. Static's ears perked to try to listen to anything. What Gary heard surprised him. It was soft at first but became louder with time.  
  
"Over here!"   
  
"See! There it is!" Said a totally different voice.  
  
"Looks pretty rough." Said a smaller voice.  
  
"Yes, I know." Agreed another.  
  
"What are we going to do with her momma?" said the first voice again. There was a pause. Gary felt himself being lifted by the scruff of the neck in an uncomfortable way.  
  
"Pack leader's not going to like this." Warned the smaller voice. Gary managed to open one of his eyes.  
  
'What?' Static couldn't see anything but forest decor all around her. Gary was obviously being carried somewhere but where? And by who? Static couldn't wonder about what was happening anymore as unconsciousness beckoned. Meanwhile.  
  
"Pikachu! Nockowl! You're both alright!" Ash said happily. Then, there was a silence between trainer and pokemon. "You didn't find Static did you?" Ash said on the verge of tears.  
  
"Don't worry Ash! We'll go look for her! She's smart, I'm sure she jumped before that thing exploded." Misty offered her comfort and Ash smiled.   
  
"You right! Bulbasaur, Bayleef, Totodile, Cyndaquil, I choose all of you!" Ash's respective pokemon came out of their balls and warmly greeted Ash. The greeting was cut off when they saw the expression on Ash's face.  
  
"We have a crisis here." Pikachu began sadly. Pikachu filled in the other pokemon about the situation and a search party was formed. Misty and Brock would check out the wreckage, their pokemon would pair up with Ash's and Ash would fan out searching the area that the balloon took before the explosion.  
  
"Let's get a move on guys! We meet back here at dark." Ash led the way into the forest in search of the missing baby pokemon. Gary on the other hand was wishing he had never been reborn.  
  
"What did you bring back now Sheris!?!" Talon, the pack leader, screamed at Gary's savior Sheris. "Do you have any idea what you have done!!!!"  
  
"I saved a child's life." Sheris said proudly. That earned her a growl from Talon. Static shriveled in fear at the large male Pikachu's growl.  
  
"You have ended ours! If the other clans of Pikachu around here have a missing child, they'll lower the broom at us. Not only will they come for the child but for our lives as well."  
  
"Smell her you idiot! That isn't the smell of another pack, that's the smell of a human." Sheris growled at her pack leader.  
  
"THAT'S EVEN WORSE! A trainer will look for their pokemon and attack anyone near it! What if her trainer has a golem? We could be wiped out in seconds! You should have left it where it was!" Static cringed again.  
  
"No sort of respectable trainer would have left a baby in this sort of condition! She was probably abandoned!" Gary's heart froze.  
  
'Ash would never abandon me! If he was going to, he would have done it as an egg, wouldn't he?' Gary then realized that he didn't know what type of trainer Ash really was. It scared Static to not know if her trainer would do that or not. Gary on the other hand knew Ash since he was young. No, Ash would never abandon Static. However, that didn't stop Gary from being scared.  
  
"PICHUUUUUUUU!" Static began to wail a cry; a cry for Ash, Pikachu or anyone else for comfort. Sheris dropped the wailing newborn gently on the soft grass carpeted floor of the forest. Amazingly, the big male Pikachu went silent.  
  
"There, there little one." Sheris cooed. Static got a better look at her savior now that she was face up. A female Pikachu of course with brown eyes that matched Ash's Pikachu's.   
  
"Aaaaaash! Where are yooooou?" Static cried. Then, as before, a tongue massaged a young Pichu to sleep. Sheris tucked the leaves around Static as soon as she was sure the young one was asleep.   
  
"She is a cute one isn't she?" Sheris asked Talon. With that, Talon stalked off to the other side of the clearing clearly overruled by the females in the pack.  
  
"Underhanded, mumble, mumble, grumble, WEMEN!" Talon fumed on the other side of the clearing until it was dusk. When the pack went to sleep, Talon made his rounds and came across the sleeping Static.  
  
'You are a cute one aren't you?' Talon sat down and watched Static sleep. 'Well, if there is someone out there, they'll have to get past me first. You're part of our pack now.' Talon reached over and gave Static a cheek rub. Static however was not having a good dream.  
  
Dream sequence.  
  
The fights were always bad but not like this. Gary hated listening to his parents fight. In fact, Gary began to hate his parents for fighting and himself because there was nothing he could do to stop them. Nothing. Gary hated to feel helpless and when they had their fights, he was helpless. This fight however was different. It had gone quiet.   
  
'What are they doing?' Gary got up from his bed as quietly as a mouse and walked to the living room. Normally, after a fight the living room would be in shambles. Gary tentatively walked up to the door and peeked in. His parents were at opposite ends of the couch staring down at the floor. They were speaking softly so Gary could barely hear them.  
  
"We can't go on like this." His mother began.  
  
"I know." Said his father.  
  
"The children are hurting more than us. With our jobs and trying to keep this marriage together." Gary's mother hesitated.   
  
"I know." His father repeated.  
  
"I think it would be best for the children to go to their grandfathers until we get this settled." Gary noticed that she almost choked on the words.   
  
"Maybe, it would be better if they went for school too." Gary heard his father say. "Because you and I both know that this will take years to fix, not weeks." Gary silently made his way back into his room. That night, Gary had cried himself to sleep for the last time.  
  
"Bye mom!" May called when the professor came and picked them up. Gary watched his parents as he left and decided that he wasn't about to let anyone get that close to him ever again. Gary was going to protect his heart from feeling this sort of pain again. It didn't come as a shock to Gary when his parents divorced. Gary had expected it to happen sometime. The real shock was a young boy called Ash Ketchum when, for the briefest instant, had Gary happy for the first time in a long time.  
  
Dream Sequence ends.  
  
"I hope Static found someplace to sleep for the night." Ash said in a sad voice. Misty and Brock looked across the fire at their sullen Ash. Ash had been like that since dark. They still had a lot of area to cover and there was still no sign of Static.  
  
"Pikaaaa-" Pikachu wasn't any better either. Misty slammed down her plate angrily.  
  
"That does it! Quit moping around Ketchum! We will find Static. Remember? You said it yourself 'She's smart, strong and healthy'. Static is fine! She's probably lost and waiting for you to find her. So snap out of it."  
  
"Misty-" Brock tried to calm her down.  
  
"Besides! We never found her in the rubble. That means she got off of the blimp. So you can take your sulking face elsewhere because I don't want to see you or Pikachu like this." Ash and Pikachu exchanged a glance and felt a little better. Misty's way of comforting was unusual but effective nonetheless.  
  
"Thanks Misty." Ash said with a yawn. "I'm turning in early so I can search earlier in the morning. Goodnight." Ash walked over to his sleeping bag and snuggled in to it. Pikachu hoped over to Ash and sat on his pillow. Ash almost cried when he noticed it was easier to breathe without Static on his chest.  
  
Day Break.  
  
"Wake up!" Misty and Brock woke up to the sound of Ash's bark. "I'm going out to look for Static. I suggest you two get organized." Misty looked groggily at her portable clock.   
  
"Ash! You're insane! It's six!" She yelped in surprise. To that, Brock sat bolt upright.   
  
"WHAT?" Brock said in shock. "Ash up before sunrise? Quick! Someone grab a camera! This is something that doesn't happen ever!" Ash watched his friends scramble to get up.   
  
"We'll meet back up here at noon. See you later." Ash and his pokemon pals went to their respectable areas and began the search again. Around ten o'clock, Pikachu found something.   
  
"Pikapi!" Pikachu had found a broken branch in a tree that left an indent on the ground. Ash rushed over to his pokemon to see what was wrong. Ash saw the broken tree limb and paled.  
  
"Where is she?" Ash said almost panicking. Pikachu sniffed the area Static had fallen. Pikachu jumped up from the scents he smelled and shook his head.   
  
"Pikachu?" It was the definite smell of another Pikachu. Someone had come and taken away his friend! Pikachu wasn't about to stand for a kidnapping, not when Static was involved.  
  
"Let's go back for the others." Ash's emotions where conflicting with a vengeance. One part of him wanted to charge after Static and the other wanted to go get help because it was the smart thing to do.   
  
'Since when have I ever been smart?' Ash joked. Ash didn't make the choice however. Pikachu went charging in the area where the scent was leading.   
  
"Wait up Pikachu!" Ash called trying to keep up with his guilt-ridden pokemon. Gary woke up to the sun rising on his eyelid. Static was surprisingly warm for some reason but lonely. Static woke with a start realizing the reason why she was lonely. Static couldn't hear Ash's heart beating. Then, the last day's events bowled her over and she almost cried.  
  
'Ash, where are you?' Gary wondered. Gary then felt something bump into his hurt leg.  
  
"PIIIIIIIIIIII!" Static curled into a fetal like position trying to protect her wounded leg. There was a scamper and a loud growl.  
  
"Out of here! All of you! Leave her to rest." Gary looked up to see Sheris shooing whatever had bumped his leg away from him.  
  
"We just wanted to play." Static recognized that as the small voice from before. Static turned her head ever so slightly to see other Pichus.   
  
"I told you she can't play with you, not until her leg gets better. Trying to play with that leg is unthinkable! Now go bug your mothers." Sheris walked up to the now shivering Gary.  
  
'Now what?' Static thought grumpily. Gary was not in a good mood because of his leg and the rude awakening was not helping matters. Sheris wrapped her tail around Static trying to keep her warm.   
  
"I wonder, what shall we call you little one? I know that trainers usually give names to their pokemon but you might not want that. Until Talon gives you a welcome into our pack, I'll just call you little one." Gary felt himself blanch.   
  
'No thanks. As soon as Ash gets here, I'm going with him.' Static felt her tongue begin to clean her fur and Static couldn't help but fall asleep again. Talon watched as the new one was preened by Sheris. Talon didn't like the idea of being on the alert because of the Pichu but still…  
  
'All babies are cute, but she's beyond that.' Talon began to wander around the clearing in his patrol. Talon would protect his newfound pack member no matter what. Then, there was a warning shout from one of the younger ones.  
  
"Human! He's coming this way!" That made the whole pack on edge. Talon ordered everyone to get together and stay together. Talon was going to deal with this.  
  
"Are we close Pikachu?" Ash asked eagerly to the pokemon ahead. Pikachu responded by speeding up.   
  
'She's close by, I can smell it.' Talon watched the bushes as they rustled. A sweatdrop formed on his head waiting for the human to come crashing through it. Instead, a stranger Pikachu popped out. Pikachu noticed the group and cautiously walked up to the male alpha.  
  
"I'm looking for a young Pichu called Static." Ash opened the bushes and saw Pikachu talking to another Pikachu. Remembering what happened last time, Ash smartly decided to stay back.  
  
"We found a Pichu yesterday, badly hurt." Replied Talon. Pikachu's stomach froze. "Which pack are you from? The one over the river or the one in the glen?" Talon demanded.  
  
"Where is she? Can I see her?" Pikachu asked quickly. Pikachu tried to get by Talon to make out where Static was. Talon pushed Pikachu back with his cheeks sparking.  
  
"You will answer my questions first! Where are you from and why was she hurt so badly?" Pikachu got back up his own cheeks sparking.  
  
"I don't have to answer your questions, I just want Static back! If you must know, her trainer and I were attack by team rocket and she saved us. After the blast we went searching for her and now we know why we couldn't find her. Give her back!" Static woke up to the argument.   
  
'What?' Gary woke up to see the large male, Talon and PIKACHU! Static was going to cry out his name when she realized something. 'Pikachu's arguing with someone. Where is Ash?'  
  
"You don't deserve a creature like her! No good trainer would ask a pokemon to get hurt for his sake." Talon shot back.  
  
"You give her back before I really get angry!" Pikachu threatened. Static then felt herself being lifted up and taken to the back of the crowd.  
  
"Try it and be fried you punk!" Talon growled menacingly.  
  
"STOP!" Static squealed. Talon and Pikachu jumped at the command in the young voice. Gary struggled wildly and was dropped. Hobbling on three feet, Static made her way to the front of the crowd.   
  
'Was that?' Pikachu jumped up in a yelp of joy when he realized it was Static. Static looked a little roughed up and she was limping but that could be taken care of.  
  
"Don't fight. Please?" Pikachu jumped to her side when she suddenly began to wobble. "Please stop fighting. I don't want you to fight over me." Talon took a step forward and saw her eyes.  
  
"Static!" Pikachu leapt to her side as she suddenly collapsed. Talon did the same.  
  
"Can I go home now Pikachu?" Static asked softly. Pikachu smoothed out her hair and smiled.  
  
"I think we can." Before it registered that Pikachu had understood what Static had said, Ash had bolted into the clearing and was by Static side within moments. The Pikachu clan scattered at the presence of a human.  
  
"Static!" Ash cried out. Pikachu let Ash take the injured pokemon. Ash quickly noticed her leg and let the tears that he had been holding back flow. "Oh Static." Ash whispered softly. "You brave fool. Don't you ever do that again! I don't want to lose you." Ash scolded quietly.  
  
'Ash?' Static felt something warm dribble onto her face. Gary opened his on eye and looked up to see Ash crying. 'Ash? Why are you crying?' Ash stood up and began to walk off.  
  
"Come on Pikachu. We have to hurry and get her to Brock or a pokecenter." Pikachu took one look back at the pack leader and sighed.  
  
"I'll take better care of her from now on I promise." Pikachu said quietly. Talon only nodded and watched as the tame pokemon ran to catch up with its trainer, his heart breaking.   
  
"Just hang on Static, we'll get you fixed up in no time." Ash said quickly walking to their appointed meeting place. Ash was careful not to jostle the baby as he carried her. Static was a tough girl but that leg really had him worried. Ash wasn't aware that he had been crying until Static began to wake up to the tears dropping onto her face.  
  
"It's alright Ash. I'll be fine." Gary said as soon as he was awake. Static had seen Ash's tear stained face as she woke up. Static wondered where the pang of envy came from until she remembered her past life.  
  
'When did I ever run with my pokemon? When did I ever show my feeling so openly like this?' The only answer Gary could give was never. Gary never cried openly like this for his pokemon, it would be a weakness for others to exploit. Yet, when Ash cried, it was his strength. Where and when Ash learned to do this Gary didn't know. Perhaps it was not something you could be taught to do; perhaps it was something you just did.  
  
"Static?" Ash asked worried. Static had been staring up at him with a look he couldn't describe. It was a look that told of pain and the utmost sorrow.  
  
"I'm sorry!" Static cried. Ash had to stop for a moment to calm his pokemon. "I never meant to hurt you so badly. Please forgive me, please…" Static sobbed into Ash's shirt. Pikachu had finally caught up to his trainer and Static.   
  
"It wasn't your fault." Static stopped crying for a moment at the sound of Pikachu's voice. "These things just happen. Even if you hurt Ash badly, he'll always forgive you. Ash is that type of person. Besides, he loves you and you love him; Ash doesn't need any more than that to forgive anyone." Gary jumped in surprise at the words being said aloud so simply.  
  
'How can Pikachu talk so freely about feelings like that?' Gary knew that he never could talk that freely. Gary never even admitted it to himself that he loved Ash back and yet the words were just so simple. Static looked up at Ash and saw the worry in his eyes.  
  
"I-I" Static couldn't finish what she wanted to say. The overwhelming desire to sleep finally over took the small Pichu and she fell fast asleep once again. Gary was aware of being moved or rather the movement around him. It was like being asleep but conscious at the same time. When Static finally came to, she once was alone again in darkness.  
  
'N-no! Ash!' Gary struggled against the darkness to bump into something solid. 'What?' Gary thought it the barriers of death so he kicked whatever it was as hard as he could.  
  
"OW!" Gary was so surprised at the voice that he fell backwards. There was a groan and Static felt herself being moved. "Static!" Growled an annoyed voice.  
  
"Huh?" Static blinked in confusion. It was so dark, how could there be a voice in such darkness? Then another voice was heard.  
  
"For crying out loud Ash! Take that stupid blinder off the girl." Gary recognized that voice. It could only be Pikachu!  
  
"Easy girl." Ash soothed. Static felt his warm hands wrap around her head that tickled her ears so she flinched. "Hey." Ash giggled when Static's ear flipped against his hand in response to his touch.  
  
"Ash? What's going on?" Gary asked. Then, a click was heard from the back of Static's head and a blinding light forced her to squint.  
  
"Welcome back to the land of the living Static." Ash said warmly. Static blinked a few times to see what was going on. When Static's eyesight returned, she realized that she was in Ash's sling. What Ash had taken off was a black blinder that he used when Static needed to sleep and it was bright out. Gary didn't even notice that they were traveling.   
  
"Nice to see you awake." Pikachu said in a conversational tone. "So, how's the leg?" Static responded without even thinking about it and tried to move her leg.   
  
"A little sore. Other than that, just fine." Static said in a tired voice.  
  
"That's good." Pikachu said with a huge grin on his face. "If it gets too stiff, just tell me and I'll inform Ash." Static's eyes went wide.  
  
"You understood me?" Static asked surprised. Static's eyes went wide when Pikachu said yes. It took about fourty minutes to get to the pokemon center. During that time, Static had been quiet the whole way. The normal greeting occurred and Gary was put through a rejuvenator. It felt weird and tingly but after it was done, Gary didn't feel his leg wound anymore.  
  
'Another plus for being a pokemon.' Gary thought with a laugh. Static jumped into Ash's arms and sighed.  
  
"Looks like someone's happy to see us." Misty said with a grin. "Did Static miss her daddy?" Ash shot her a death glare.  
  
"I know where you sleep Waterflower." Ash threatened. Misty said nothing but stuck her tongue out at Ash. The group made their way to the cafeteria when Static's stomach did its embarrassing thing again.   
  
'I really have to work on that.' Gary thought glumly. Static then was shifted into the familiar crock of Ash's arm. Gary couldn't wait for the warm sweet milk he knew was coming and made himself comfortable.  
  
"Here we go." Ash put in the warm bottle and Static sighed. The milk was as warm and as sweet as ever but Gary was preoccupied.   
  
'I can tell Pikachu what happened. I could make Pikachu believe me but do I really want to? What would Ash think if he found out I was the reborn version of his rival Gary Oak?' Gary knew the one answer to those questions. No, Gary didn't want to tell Ash anything because it would change their relationship for good.  
  
"Something wrong Static?" Ash asked noticing that she still had a half bottle left. Static shook out of her thoughts and began to drink again. These thoughts didn't matter, Ash was here and now and that was all that mattered.   
  
'All I need is Ash. Who I was doesn't matter anymore. Even if I haven't said it out loud I love you Ash.' Ash noticed that the bottle was finished and went to burp Static. To Ash's surprise, Static leaned into Ash's touch for the first time.   
  
'That's different.' Ash noted mentally. Then the thought was dismissed as quickly as it came. Static was burped almost ceremonially and she began to drift off into sleep. Static listened to the idle conversation around her and began to wonder what the future had in store for her. Ash would be there but what did he normally do? What would he do with her? The part that said I'm Gary Oak said there is no way that twerp is going to train me! The part that was Static the pokemon said I would do anything for Ash because I care for him.  
  
'I guess we'll just have to wait and see.' Static fell asleep on Ash once again and dreamed of new dreams. Gary Oak was no more and a contented Static dreamed of being with her friend and trainer Ash.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon. If I did, Gary would be a cute little Pichu (and not happy about it).   



	4. Chapter 4 teaser

Chapter 4  
  
"Here we are!" Ash crooned like a father does to a child. Static was given the bottle and she enthusiastically began to drink up. They were all around a table at the new bark pokemon center and Static began to listen to the conversation around her.  
  
"You really have to let Static try some solid foods Ash. You've had her for about two weeks already and she hasn't had anything else." Misty said in a scolding tone.   
  
"But Static likes her milk." Ash protested. Misty sighed at Ash and looked back to Static.  
  
"And another thing, Ash, you have to start training her." Gary spat out his milk and coughed a few times. Gary was Static now and he accepted that fully. In fact, the only time that Gary ever surfaced now was when the word training or Oak was mentioned.   
  
"Eeeew!" Brock moaned beside Ash. The milk went a distance and managed to soak the poor breeder fully. Misty giggled but Gary didn't think it was funny.  
  
"What do you mean train me!?" Gary growled. Pikachu, who thanked someone up there that he decided to sit beside Misty today, jumped into the conversation.  
  
"Ash is a good trainer. Training under him is easy compared to the way some other people train their pokemon. You really lucky to have a trainer like Ash."  
  
"Oh no! Forget that idea Misty." Ash suddenly snapped at the girl opposite to him. "There is no way I'm training Static in this century."  
  
"What?" Pikachu said in shocked awe. That sated the Gary side for now and Static resurfaced.  
  
"Oh? Why not? You train all your other pokemon." Misty pointed out. Ash snorted and turned to look at Static.  
  
"That's different. For one, all the pokemon I train want to be trained. I gave them a choice to remain with me or go back out into the wild. Static can't make that choice, not yet anyway." Static looked up into Ash's eyes and saw that he was serious.  
  
"I don't see why that's a problem." Misty said eyeing Static. "She seems intelligent enough to make that decision." Ash turned away in a snit.  
  
"I don't see you giving that choice to Togepi." Ash snorted. Togepi recognized his name and began to coo and wave his arms back and forth.  
  
"That's different! Togepi has never lived in the wild and is way too young…." Misty trailed off. Ash gave her a grin that shouted 'VICTORY!'. "Oh, stuff it Ketchum."  
  
"I think training Static might be a fine idea." The group of four looked to Brock who had finally decided to join the conversation. "You saw what she did to that light bulb at the baby contest. It might be a good idea to have her trained while she's young to harness all that power when she becomes a Pikachu."  
  
"Et tu Brock?" Ash sighed and leaned back into the booth's cushions. "I'll think about it." With that conversation over, the group began to talk about getting back to Pallet.   
  
'Pallet. That's one place I'm not sure I want to go to.' Gary thought sadly. It might be good to see his grandf er-ex-grandfather again but what about his pokemon? Gary wasn't too sure that he wanted to know what had happened to them after all this time.  
  
"By they way Ash, have you told the Prof about Static yet?" Misty asked curious.  
  
"Ummm." Ash started to say. Brock and Misty fell over in their seats.   
  
"Ash!" The pair said in unison. Ash looked sheepish and then realized that Static had finished the bottle.  
  
"I know! I know! I just haven't got around to that yet. I have been busy with Static you know." Ash then put Static on his chest and burped her. "Besides, I was going to call him right after breakfast."  
  
"You." Misty growled. "If your head wasn't attached to your shoulders, I'm sure you would have forgotten it somewhere in Pallet!" For once, Ash ignored her slam and turned his attention back to Static.  
  
"I think you'll like it when we go and visit the Prof. He's a really nice guy and he likes pokemon." Static gave Ash a skeptical look.  
  
'I know that you doofus! I was his grandson after all.' Static thought to herself. Static had to keep those comments to herself now because Pikachu could understand her. It was a little weird knowing that a pokemon could relay the information to Ash. That was something Gary did not want.  
  
"So, what time are we leaving?" Misty asked out of nowhere. Ash looked up from Static and turned to Misty.  
  
"I think we should leave right after we phone him. I want to get back to Pallet to see my mom anyway!" Ash said gleefully. Everyone at the table fell over. Static smirked when they all got back up again.  
  
'Heh. If I had a mom like Ash's, I wouldn't have left home in the first place.' Gary sighed a little and snuggled deeper into Ash's warm embrace. 'Now I have a reason not to leave home. My home is with Ash now. Ash would never leave me or ignore me. I just hope that he stays this way.'  
  
"Ash!" Misty growled in her usual warning tone. "We're not going to Pallet to see your mother! Professor Oak wants us to see something and to talk something over with you." Ash looked thoughtful for a moment.  
  
"I don't know what's so important that I have to miss the opening of the crimson league for. I'll be behind everyone in the starting of the league." Static looked up at Ash's disappointed face and realized something.  
  
'I wouldn't have gone back to see gramps if I was in the middle of training a new pokemon. Then again, I wouldn't be Ash would I?' Static nuzzled Ash's arm to cheer him up. Ash noticed the movement and looked down to see Static showing an outward sign of affection.  
  
'That's odd. Static seems to be warming up to me lately, I wonder why.' Ash never voiced the doubts in his mind that Static never really liked him much. It had been a different story after the incident with team rocket though. Static was almost becoming as affectionate as his mom was to him when he was little.  
  
"Ash!" Misty and Brock brought Ash out of his thoughts by arguing over which path they should take to get to Pallet town. Misty finally won an argument and was given the map. Of course ladies go first…  
  
"And you tell me that I have a bad sense of direction!" Ash growled under his breath. Static giggled and watched as Misty tried to decide which way they should go. Glaring daggers at Ash and Brock, Misty went back to the map.  
  
"It figures that the first time Misty ever gets the map that she would end up getting us lost" Brock whispered to Ash and his Pichu. Gary couldn't help but snicker at the comment.   
  
'I may be a Benedict Arnold by thinking this because I'm a girl now but, girls have a worse sense of direction then guys even though they don't like to admit it.' Gary's thoughts popped into Static's head. But there was also something to be said about boys since Gary remembered being one and now being a newly reincarnated girl. 'But boys like to go without being prepared, and girls plan the thing to death!'   
  
"We go this way!" Misty finally piped up. Ash looked over Misty's shoulder and sighed. Static took the opportunity to look at the map by jumping on Misty's shoulder. Pikachu was the one to echo Static's thoughts.  
  
"We're going the wrong way, boy is she lost." Gary blinked at the map and agreed. There was only one way to solve this problem and that was to-  
  
"Static!" cried Misty in surprise when Static took the map from her clutches. Static grinned and began to run in the right direction to Pallet town or at least for a little ways.  
  
"Static!" Ash's shout was more worried and surprised than Misty's. Static inwardly groaned when he heard the tone. This could mean trouble. "Pikachu, catch Static!" Before Static could get to where she wanted to be, Pikachu leapt in the way making her screech to a stop.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" Pikachu demanded. "This is no time to be playing with a piece of paper. We're trying to find Pallet To-" Pikachu gave an experimental sniff as the blessed winds changed. "Ash! We're near Pallet! Static found Pallet Town!" Ash, Misty and Brock ran up to the two pokemon a little winded.  
  
"Did you say something Pikachu?" Ash asked in a breathless tone. Brock relieved Static of the map. Before Pikachu could respond, Brock voiced his findings.  
  
"Pallet Town should just be over this hill! Look! There's the edge of the Viridian forest over there and you can hear the waves to the right of us." Static found herself to be the center of attention very quickly.   
  
"What?" Static asked innocently with sparkling eyes. Pikachu shook his head and let out a smirk. Ash looked at the map over Brock's shoulder and let out a laugh.  
  
"You know, if we had gone the way that you wanted to go, we would have gone into the heart of Viridian forest. You know, there are probably a lot of BUGS there." At the word of the slimy icky insects, Misty turned blue in the face and began to shudder.  
  
"Don't say things like that!" Misty bellowed at the pair. Static exchanged a look that said 'I'm not gonna ask' with Pikachu. Pikachu sighed and looked down at the ground.  
  
"Don't ever let Misty near a bug of any sort. Misty will either a) run in hysterics or b) try to mallet it away and anyone near it in the process." Pikachu said still looking at the ground. Static winced as the memory of the infamous thumping that Misty could incur flashed through her mind.  
  
"Ouch." Static said in a small voice.  
  
"You have no idea." Ash watched the entire exchange with interest. It was amazing how well Static and Pikachu were getting along and he was secretly proud on how things were going between the pair.  
  
'Static's learning a lot because of Pikachu. I can't wait to present her to Prof Oak, will he be surprised. I may not be a pokemon researcher but I know when a pokemon exhibits above average intelligence. Static's a smart little thing. If Gary was still alive he would have been jealous-' Ash's thoughts stopped at the thought of Gary. It was still painful even after all this time.  
  
"Well, let's go! I can't wait to see my mom." Ash said picking up Static. Pikachu decided to walk. Misty chose the moment to try and tease Ash out of his thoughts and keep him from thinking about the inventible.  
  
"You mean you can't wait to eat your mother's cooking." Misty said in a teasing tone. Ash stuck his tongue out at her.   
  
"Nyaaaaa. You just jealous! My mother is a really good cook and you aren't" Static closed her eyes.  
  
'Ash, when are you ever going to learn tact? Five, four, three, two, one…' Misty suddenly became Ash's worst nightmare with an enlarged head, breathing flames and a fan in hand. 'Right… she broke her mallet last time she hit Ash.'  
  
"Are you calling me a bad cook!?!" Misty demanded. Ash backed up with a sweatdrop running down the side of his head. Looking ferocious, Misty advanced on the retreating boy.  
  
"I- uh- er-" The fan was raised. "Eeeep!" Ash went running for the safety of his house. "Can't we talk about this!?!" Static clung to Ash as a weird feeling of deja-vu claimed his memories.  
  
Disclaimer: I wished I owned pokemon. If I did, Gary would be a cute little Pichu (and snuggled up to Ash of course) ^_^  
Just a teaser. I'll get the full chapter in Tuesday. 


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